Strong pound cuts hotspot prices

A stronger pound and price cuts in foreign resorts are making family trips to European hotspots up to 31% cheaper this summer, says a Post Offce Travel Money survey.

Best-value holidays are to Spain's Costa del Sol and to Bulgaria, while Italy and France are the most-pricey spots.

Travellers were warned that typical holiday items such as buckets and spades, sun cream and insect repellent can be as much as 80% more in some resorts than in others.

Those choosing to eat out will find prices have plunged as much as 46% since last year in some popular destinations. Those places where meals are much cheaper include Sorrento in Italy and the Croatian resort of Porec.

However, meal prices have soared in Majorca, making it one of the priciest of places to eat out.

Post Office Travel Money surveyed the price of 15 typical holiday-spend items in 13 popular European resorts as well as Orlando in Florida.

The items included a three-course family meal, beach items and soft and alcoholic drinks.

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The best-value resort was Sunny Beach in Bulgaria where the items cost just £66. The next-best prices were in the Costa del Sol where the items were £80. followed by Crete (£87).

Despite the dip in meal prices, Sorrento was one of the most expensive of the resorts, with the items costing as much as £143. Only Nice on the French Riviera was more pricey - at £148.

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A bucket and spade cost just £1.63 in Crete but as much £8.17 in Nice, while a portion of chips was 64p in Sunny Beach but £3.27 in Nice.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: "Paying for meals is likely to have the biggest impact on the family budget. Price variations in popular destinations are much greater than you might expect so those who have still to book would be well advised to do some homework to find out where feeding the family will cost least.

"For those on a strict budget Sunny Beach and the Costa del Sol look to be unbeatable value. However, competition between restaurants in Sorrento and Porec means that families visiting these resorts will pay a lot less than a year ago."